Friday, September 27, 2013

Kala Ghoda Film Competition, Art Trisomy 21, From Myanmar with Love and more..

NEWS

Short Film Competition at KGAF

In preparation for the Kala Ghoda Art Festival, 2014, Mumbai, the Kala Ghoda Association, has called a submission of entries for their short film competition titled, ‘Chase’ as part of the art festival planned from February 1st to 9th, 2014.The duration of the film has to be a maximum of 20 minutes and the dvd’s are to be send to this address:

The last date for submission of the short films is 22nd December 2013.

Art Trisomy 21

(work on display)

Gallery Art & Soul, Mumbai presents a unique show of art works by women with the condition of Down’s Syndrome. Medically termed as Trisomy 21, Downs syndrome is a chromosomal condition associated with varying degrees of intellectual disability.

This show titled, ‘Art Trisomy 21 - Edition II’ is the second in a row at the gallery where the works on display have been rendered by these women. The colourful canvases display a definitive soulful originality and vibrancy giving the show its quiet eloquence. Om Creations is the work space where the art works of 66 cognitive and intellectually challenged women trained in Art and crafts present their works. This initiative is run by Dr Radhike Khanna with the help of the parents of these young adults for the past 22 years.

The show previews on 27th September 2013 6:00pm onwards and is on view till 3rd October 2013.

The ‘Rasa’ show

Mahua Art Gallery, Bangalore presents a show titled, ‘Rasa’ which is a show of a group of artists’ works, mainly paintings and prints of nine artists.

The works on display are a rich visual experience and a treat to the eyes of all the art lovers. Exploring various contemporary and traditional styles, the artists have presented a multitude of works which traverse a range of subjects rural and urban.

The show is on view till 5th October 2013.

Drama Of the Analyzed and Analyzer

( Detail of the work 'Drama of the Analyzed and Analyzer')

Galerie Mirchandani + Steinruecke, Mumbai presents a solo of young artist Arun KS, titled, ‘Drama of the Analyzed and Analyzer’.

Arun KS is a MS University, Baroda graduate and this is his first solo show. With a heavy leaning towards abstraction, Arun walks the fence between ritualistic and religious inspirations and combines them with the ethereal.

His works though incorporate pages from the Bible in his works, they merely work as constructs and builds for his multi layered, multi medium works.

The show previews on 1st October 2013, 6:30 -8:30 pm and is on view till 15th November 2013.(News reports by Sushma Sabnis)

FEATURE

A slice of culture

From Myanmar With Love is an intriguing glimpse of life set in an isolated land

(Maung Aw's turban Kid)

`From Myanmar With Love, the exhibition currently on display at Vinnyasa Premier Art Galery, brings a slice of Burmese life to Chennai. Featuring the works of five contemporary artists from the region, the collection provides an intriguing glimpse of an ancient culture, and a sometimes difficult life set in an isolated land.

The most arresting works would have to be those of Zaw Win Pe. His abstract landscapes of the North Eastern Shan State in Burma are an evocative blaze of colour. The use of almost-neon tones gives the works a strikingly surreal feel, with jagged grey mountains outlined in bright pink, roads and forests in psychedelic orange, and fields bathed brilliant shades of aquamarine.

In bright hues

(Maung Aw's Private Moment)

The bold use of colour is one of the hallmarks of the exhibition. Than Kyaw Htay’s large, spare canvases of rural Burma might touch upon issues of displacement and isolation, but here too the hues are bright, the vast, open farmlands painted in vivid, textured strokes of red, yellow, and green. The workers stand alone, their backs to you, staring out at the distance and into their future, troubled but hopeful.

Maung Aw uses similarly vibrant blocks of colour to depict the ‘Private Moments’ in the lives of Burmese women. In this charming series, the artist captures women in the private act of tying the ‘longyi’, the traditional sarong-like garment, their heads bent and arms stretched outward as they focus on getting it just right. The result is a set of dancer-like images that are graceful and introspective at once. The ‘Turban Kids’ series is equally appealing, featuring portraits of children from the Shan State wearing the traditional turban.

(Than Kyaw Htay's To The Brightness)

In contrast, K. Kyaw’s busy, chaotic canvases capture the hubbub of the crowded marketplace, its sellers and their wares, buyers and passersby. The attention to detail and use of light and shade give these works a wonderful ‘photo real’ quality. Even more powerful is his ‘Unfolding News’ series, juxtaposing lifelike images of Buddhist monks against the backdrop of the printed word, a metaphor, perhaps, for the contrasts between the country’s cultural past and present.

Also part of the exhibition (though not on display at present) are two pieces by Aung Myint, the senior-most artist in the collection. The works are a departure from the others, featuring minimalist, curving line drawings that depict the bond between mother and child.

From Myanmar With Love is a travelling exhibition put together by the Calcutta Art Club. The first exhibition of its kind in the country, the show has already been to New Delhi, Kolkata and Mumbai, and will be heading to Bangalore next. It is on in the city until September 28.